Crossing to the Caribbean from the UK with a Dog – via Cape Verde
By Romy McIntosh
When we started discussing sailing on our own boat across the Atlantic to the Caribbean, one of our first questions was: what would we do with our pets?? We were the proud and loving owners of Artemis, our 4 year old border collie, Inky, a 9 year old cat, and Spook, the newest member of our family, a 3 year old cat, both cats being rescued. With the cats we were unsure how well they would adjust to life on a boat, especially Inky who was older and of quite a nervous disposition. We were also worried about them wandering away from the boat in some far-flung marina and us never seeing them again, so the difficult decision was made to leave them with Rhys’ parents. They were happy to have them and we knew that the cats would be safe and comfortable, even if we miss them terribly!
Artie, however, would be coming with us. After some quick googling and watching YouTube videos of other liveaboards exploring the world with their dogs, we knew that it has and could be done. We also knew that there would be a lot of added costs and paperwork associated with this decision, and even some places we might just not be able to visit at all. However, we were committed to keeping her with us and doing whatever it was that would need doing.
Getting through Europe
The first obstacles for travelling with Artie were to be the Spanish and Portuguese coasts, including the Canary Islands. For this we decided to get her a European passport. The process was fairly simple if long, first we found a local vet in the UK who helped us with getting a Health Certificate so she could travel to France. This cost us £100 in 2023. This document showed that she was micro-chipped and had all of her vaccinations, most importantly, rabies.
Next we hopped on the Eurostar to France and found a vet who was willing to issue her a European passport, as well as give her next scheduled rabies booster vaccine so that it could be recorded on her new passport. This now meant that she could travel through Europe with no issue as long as we kept on top of her vaccinations.
The Canary Islands to Cape Verde
Leaving Europe with Artie was going to be a bit more complicated. We knew that we were going to be stopping in the Canary Islands, which is a European territory, but that we also wanted to stop in Cape Verde, which isn’t. Cape Verde doesn’t have rabies, or is at least a very low risk country, however Martinique does not classify them as no risk. Therefore in order for dogs travelling from Cape Verde to enter, they need to have a rabies titration test at least 90 days before they arrive in Martinique. We got this done in Nazaré, Portugal, along with the rest of her booster vaccinations. This cost us €130 in total, much cheaper than in the UK! The veterinary surgery we used was Polivet – Clinica Veterinaria, who can be contacted by WhatsApp at +351912923332. They were fantastic there, and they emailed us her titration test results when they arrived, as we had left to continue south.
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